cloudy water, bacterial bloom?

Question
QUESTION: I previously had my 20 gal set up with a male and female Betta, divided. I was going to breed them and decided not to. So i took them out. cleaned out the tank. I'm telling you this because there is a chance I didn't wash out the gravel as well as I thought?? Maybe?
I have 3 bettas, all in 2.25 gallon tanks, frequent water changes because they don't have filters, and I use a baster to clean the little bits out of the gravel. 100% change every three days and 25% in between.
Especially with the two newer fish(the ones I had planned on breeding), I've been noticing that their water gets cloudy after I change it sometimes it clears up on its own and sometimes I get frustrated and just change the water again. I haven't needed a heater yet, but am starting to which is one reason why I wanted to put them in the bigger tank which has one that works very well

I'm getting another betta in the male this week to complicate things more. So, night before last, I made dividers and set up the 20 gal again with three sections . I used tap water with conditioner the old filter with a new cartridge, themometer and the decorations from their smaller tanks. I want to have all of the males in the devided in the 20 gal.
While trying to capture the older of the two bettas, he flipped out and I think I hurt him because his face is whitish gray around his eye and gill, especially on his right side. I figured he'd heal better in the heated tank anyway.
I floated them for about an hour and then slowly sunk their cups. At first they were rather frantic and curious then they calmed down and then they became very very lethargic and the water got cloudy, which I haven't noticed bothering them that much before, I could be wrong.
I decided to take them out and put them back in their old tanks last night. They still seem pretty lethargic now, but more reactive.
I've tested their water. The tap, 20 gal tank and the small tanks, all test the the same. They are all un-cycled tanks
ammonia:0
nitrite:0
nitrate:10 ppm

Currently the female is doing very well, I haven't had time to give her her normal water changes lately with all my focuss on the the other tank. Her water is not cloudy and her water tested the same as everything else.

the two male's tanks are now cloudy and the 20 gal is starting to clear up. I'm afraid to put them back and was reading about cycling.
Blarg! I don't know what to do.
The plants are fake silk ones. I'm thinking of getting real ones would this make their water safer?
Do you know why they got so unhealthy so quickly?

Thanks for any advice you can give. I apologize if this didn't read very well and I hope you can make some sense out of it.


ANSWER: Hello April,
Cloudy water is really common in a lot of tanks.  The reason why your tank is cloudy is because the tank doesnt have enough bacteria to support the fish's bioload, organics in the water or excess food.  So the tank goes into a bloom of bacteria to compensate for it.  It could also happen in tanks with organics in the water.  It does go away by itself after time, no matter how many water changes you do, it will always be there until the tank has grown enough bacteria.  

To me it does sound like your tank is already cycled.  Cycled tanks have no readings of ammonia or nitrite but has readings of nitrate because there are bacteria present to break down both ammonia and nitrite.  If you tank is already cycled, then you might have hit a mini-cycle because the tank crashed.  Meaning something was changed in the water.  Either a lot of the bacteria was cleaned out or a lot of food went in at one point or another.

As long as you are doing water changes, your fish should be fine.  New water is always good.  You dont have to remove 100%, you only have to remove 15%-20% partial water if your water is building up in toxins.  Ammonia and nitrite should never be higher than 1ppm.  Nitrate should never be higher than 40ppm.  But if you are using test strips, you may get false readings.  Liquid testing is accurate and should be used instead.  Bacteria blooms can last anywhere from a few days to a month.  

Remember to not use medications to try to clear the water.  It will just tamper with the water.  All it is, is a bacterial bloom.  It is not good nor bad, just something that happens once in a while.  Even I get them sometimes also :)
-Matt-

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: If it were cycled wouldn't it mean that there would be more nitrates than in the tap water?

Also, is there anything I can do to help my fish perk back up? Should i leave them in their small tanks until they seem to be doing better even tough it's unheated?

Also there seems to be a slime on everything in the tank, that can't be normal right?

Answer
Tap water never and should not contain nitrates.  The only thing it could contain is either nothing, or small amounts of ammonia because of the chlorine bondage.  

The slime is because of bacteria.  Theres 2 types of bacteria that work in the tank, autotrophs and heterotrophs.  Heterotrophs is the reason why there is the slime in the tank.  They multiple very fast compared to autotrophs.  The slime build up means the bacteria is growing to break down the organic substances in the tank.  Even if it is just plain water and a bare tank, the water has no chlorine, enabling the growth of the bacteria.  It is an unsightly look, I see it all the time when I do a fishless cycle.  It looks like cloudy jelly-like substances correct?  After I dose the ammonia high, to cycle my tank fishless, theres a ton of food for them, the organics from the substrate and the ammonia feeds the bacteria, therefore breaking out in a slime.  It usually goes away by itself after the tank has finished cycling.  You can remove it if you want.  

If you have another well-established tank you can put the bettas in, that would be good.  Or you can add some aquarium salt to the tank, it provides the fish with electrolytes and causes them to be less stressed.  Remember since your bettas are not used to salt yet, I would only put in half a dose and gradually work up.  I believe the recommended dosage is 1tablespoon for every 5 gallons of aquarium water.  Since you have a 20g, it would be 4 tbps.  I would only put 2tbps for now.  

-Matt-